[Liquix]

Hide YouTube suggested / recommended sections both on the front page and to the right of the player. It's disturbing to see how much this changes my consumption patterns.

I'm beginning to realize that instead of using YouTube: explicitly search for video -> watch video -> read a comment or two -> close tab

YouTube has been using me: open main page -> get distracted by a video that an algorithm knows I'll be interested in -> click a couple more recommended videos -> fall down the auto-play ad revenue rabbit hole -> hour later: 'oh yeah, why did I open YouTube...?' -> perhaps search for intended video, perhaps get distracted again -> etc. etc

This trend has become synonymous with popular internet services over the past 10-20 years. These services are marketed as a way to connect with distant friends, view all the multimedia the internet has to offer, save us money, etc. when in reality the majority are leveraging large-scale data collection combined with neural nets to hijack our brains' reward systems just for the sake of greed. God bless uBlock!